Picnicking in Melbourne

Whether they are held in your backyard, at a park or indoors on a rainy day, picnics are literally one of the loveliest ways to spend an afternoon.

As an homage to the picnic, I’ve put together a mini guide to picnicking in Melbourne. I’ve matched it by markets and local parks, so you can set up shop close to your ‘suppliers’. I’ve also included a handy picnic checklist, a sample picnic menu and some recipes for the homemade outdoor feast.

Is there a park we should know about or a food market stallholder you want to give a shout out to? Let us know in the comments below.

JC x

P.s – I have just recently come across Melbourne Picnics. They help set up and prepare your picnic for you. Great if you don’t want to worry about all the details: http://www.melbournepicnics.net.au.

P.p.s – If you’re a fan of sustainability-friendly cafe’s in Melbourne, we would love you to support our new food guide: Melbourne for Conscious Foodies. It’s all about eateries and cafes committed to supporting local, the environment and social good. And we’ll be donating 25% of the profits from each guide to a local Melbourne cause.

One of my favourite markets in Melbourne, this is a great one for collecting bread and dips from Cleo’s, some lovely pastries from Sweet Greek, as well as some smoked salmon from Claringbold’s. For the cheese lovers, consider picking up something from market newbie, Maker & Monger.

Parks: Fawkner Park (Pasley Street between Commercial and Toorak Roads, as well as one of my favourite hideouts, The Royal Botanical Gardens (Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne).

This market is just amazing. It’s incredibly cheap across the board but also stocks some more exotic items. Go here for Lebanese bread, cheap nuts and don’t leave without some hot jam donuts from Dandee Donuts.

Parks: Dandenong Park (174 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong).

Treats closeby: Check out our Gourmet Food Guide to Dandenong with a list of spots from Polish rye bread to Middle Eastern sweets.

South Melbourne Market can sometimes be a little more expensive than the other markets, but it is gourmet and their products are top notch across the board. Nuts, fresh juices, cheese, smallgoods, Clement Coffee and some Aptus Seafood oysters are all must-buys.